Ph.D. student Sooran Choi (Art History) (pictured right) received a $10,000 professional development fellowship from the College Art Association (CAA), which is designed in part to support the transition between graduate studies and the recipient’s professional career.

Choi’s dissertation, “The South Korean ‘Avant-Garde,’ 1967-1992: Subterfuge as Radical Agency,” explores the social and political tensions between the country’s military dictatorships and the opposition, comprised mostly of artists, students, and intellectuals who defined themselves as avant-garde artists.

“The fellowship award has been extremely helpful in easing my financial burden while I dedicate myself to scholarly pursuits,” said Choi. “Of greater importance to me is the recognition by my scholarly peers at CAA that my dissertation topic is worthy of an award. I believe this will significantly help my ability to find a publisher for my completed dissertation, which I plan to expand into a book.”

Choi is one of only two students to receive the award, which is open to artists and art historians enrolled in M.F.A. and Ph.D. programs in the United States. She will be recognized this month at the CAA’s 106th Annual Conference in Los Angeles.